The North Pole is under siege. Clawz has taken over, and Mrs. Claus and the elves have formed a roughshod resistance against his diabolical (and naughty) rule.

Just check out the image above – a candy cane in a fist. Just like the workers of Mars in Red Faction: Guerrilla, the elves fight their oppressors to the last.

Run to the courtyard outside Santa’s workshop. It’s time for a Kringle-style regime-change.

The courtyard itself is festooned with the severed heads of Santa’s precious reindeer. The poor old elf can’t contain his sadness – get revenge and clear the courtyard of Toy Soldiers and Gingerbread Men. Watch out for the tiny elves, those little guys are on your side.

Reinforcements will swarm in after clearing most of the yard. Keep pushing, use TK to smash the MurderBots or to throw the soldiers around for fun. The Boss has all his powers intact now.

It doesn’t hurt to grab the laser miniguns or mine layers and use them against the bad guys. They’re no good for the snipers on the rooftops, but even pistols can quickly take care of those bready chumps.

When the courtyard is finally clear, meet Claus at the workshop door. Now you’ve got an option.

Lick the door, or go to the stables. If you really want, the Boss can lick through the candy cane barricade, but it takes a long time. Licking through the door will earn an achievement, but killing is always more fun. Get more murder at the stables.

Unsurprisingly, both buildings are swarming with Gingerbread Men and Toy Soldiers. Wipe them out before interacting with the robotic reindeer – a single shot will break the Boss out of his animation cycle.

How does one disable robo-reindeer? By sticking your hand up it’s exhaust port, duh. Shut down both reindeer at the right-most stable, then the second pair at the left-most stable. Don’t miss the one sitting outside, in it’s own little grazing area. How cute.

There are tons of Gingerbread Men outside, so you better smash the crackers into crumbs before even attempting to stick your hand up that reindeer’s rump.

Next, the devious Twinkle appears. This back-stabbing elf turned on the real Santa to join Clawz. Use a nice super jump to spot the blue star icon and follow it with a combination of gliding and running. Eventually he’ll lead you around to a spot to the left of the workshop entrance.

More of the buggers will drop into the area while you fight. Twinkle isn’t especially tough – dual-SMGs directed into the guy’s head will solve your problem.

Twinkle does have a rocket launcher and TK powers, so it is a good idea to keep moving. If you see him standing still, hit him with a fire blast, or stomp him, or do anything that’ll throw the goon off his game.

Once he’s dead, the side-entrance to the workshop will open.

Inside the warehouse, a hallway will stretch toward a conveyor on the right. To the left, you’ll find Christmas presents. Time for a little Metal Gear stealth-action – put on the present box and amble toward the sorting machine to enter the workshop proper with Santa.

See? Told you. Playing with present boxes isn’t just for babies anymore.

Mary Claus is already in the workshop, kicking ass with the elves. Join her and clear the area. It’s total chaos, and there isn’t a ton of room to move. Try sticking to basic weapons, rockets, and blasts to get rid of Clawz’ minions.

When the area is clear, go upstairs to Santa’s office.

This festive little room is full of goodies. Mary will grab the North Pole – it’s a weapon! Kind of like a baseball bat, or a pole you smack people with. Don’t worry, you’ll get it too when the mission is over.

An XMAS music gun! With this kind of cheer, Clawz might finally be defeated. Test it out back in the workshop, where a new swarm of bad guys will appear with their boss.

Clawz can only be hurt with the Christmas Gun. Don’t try anything else against him, it won’t work. Other things -will- work on his minions, though, so go nuts.

Find some solid cover, and hide behind it while Clawz is distracted by Miss Claus, then unleash the Christmas Gun. Clawz loves throwing energy blasts at the Boss while he’s slow, so simply step back behind cover and the big bad guy will give up the attack.

When Clawz is defeated, he’ll just retreat. Defeat any remaining Gingerbread Men, then exit the workshop through the front entrance down the hall.

You’ll be greeted by cheering elves and fireworks! The unhappy workers are viciously finished off the last Gingerbread Men, but that isn’t the Boss’ problem. Get in the shiny sleigh inside Santa’s hangar down the road to complete the mission.

Clawz is trying to sap cheer from Virtual Steelport. Time to deliver presents and chew bubblegum, etc.

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